Book Review - Onward: Starbucks, Howard Schultz
Brand management is a very effective tool of creating sustenance in business (Scarborough et al., 2009). Dominant brands are one of the main reasons why there are monopolies in so many sectors. The popularity of brands is also an explanation to the rise of corporations that control the biggest businesses in the world.
For this reason, the book Onward by Howard Schultz was first approached with a sense of skepticism, after all, all business leaders are constantly looking for ways to make their businesses superior. In a world where businesses are perceived to lack a human element, the main themes of the book always had the feel of being forced, and having been decorated to create a suitable image of the business to the consumers (Scarborough et al., 2009).
[...] He vastly improved the fortunes of the company. In fact, he tripled the annual earnings over the 5 years that he was at the helm (Schultz & Gordon, 2011). This may have been down to the momentum that the business had generated under Howard Schultz. However, the book takes a completely different view. There is an emphasis on his origin. The author draws attention to the fact that he had worked for the company before his promotion, implying that the success was due to the ‘love' for the company because of his attachment to it (Schultz & Gordon, 2011). [...]
[...] The other lesson that about management that is contained within the book is the value of focusing on the most important elements of business. Howard Schultz proposes that a business must always strive to enhance the values that are most important to the business (Schultz & Gordon, 2011). A case may be made about the presentation in the book, for example, the coffee is the most important thing to Starbucks as an organization. However, proposing that other things make the business worse may not be true, all that has to be done to expand into these new areas is to create different outlets under the same brand name if it is not possible to have all under one roof (Schultz & Gordon, 2011). [...]
[...] However, I think that he is a good manager, and his management skills are responsible for the change in fortune, not the romantic approach to business that he claims to take. This shows that he is an excellent leader with the ability to make the readers believe him. His success also shows success of his leadership skill to the employees of the company, because if the main reason why the company turned around is a return to a human focus. References Schultz, H., & Gordon, J. (2011). Onward: Starbucks fought for life devoid of losing its soul. [...]
[...] Book Review - Onward: Starbucks fought for life devoid of losing its soul Brand management is a very effective tool of creating sustenance in business (Scarborough et al., 2009). Dominant brands are one of the main reasons why there are monopolies in so many sectors. The popularity of brands is also an explanation to the rise of corporations that control the biggest businesses in the world. For this reason, the book Onward by Howard Schultz was first approached with a sense of skepticism, after all, all business leaders are constantly looking for ways to make their businesses superior. [...]
[...] According to Howard Schultz, the loss of culture in turn led to a decrease in the number of loyal clients and decline in sales (Schultz & Gordon, 2011). Onwards, How Starbucks fought for his life is a good book, especially for management students. It provides an insight into factors that are helpful in establishing and running businesses. To increase the appeal of the book, Howard Schultz actually turned things around. When the recession finally ended in 2009, the business made a significant recovery. [...]
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